Patches
by Chiyume
Summary: They had been over it before. Ever since the angel came to live with them in the batcave Cas had continued to bring it up and Dean had just as continuously kept turning him down. Then, call it coincidence or fate or whatever, he had found the solution... Oneshot, SPN-verse, Dean/Cas canon-relationship (Friends? Romance in the happening?)
1. Chapter 1

**_Okay, so I wrote this for the Dean/Cas Week 2013 to post on my tumblr, but I thought that those of you who don't follow me there or don't have a tumblr of your own would want to take part of it as well. =)_**

**_Hope you'll like it!_**

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They had been over it before.

Ever since the angel came to live with them in the batcave Cas had continued to bring it up and Dean had just as continuously kept turning him down. Of course he hated the hurt look it brought to the angel's face and he loathed himself for having to deny his friend this one thing once and once again, but he _couldn't_ god damnit, he _couldn't_! Cas knew what would happen if they did; Dean had explained it to him several times in explicit detail, but it didn't seem to make the angel any less stubborn on the subject.

In his defense Dean actually _tried_ to make Cas feel better about it all, he really did, but it turned out that cheering up an angel was harder than it was to make Sam appreciate Japanese porn. Dean _understood_ why Cas wanted this, he wasn't stupid and god knew Dean had been through enough shit of his own to recognize a damaged person when he saw one; he just wished the angel could have chosen some other way to deal with his issues, or at least something that Dean could actually _help_ him with.

This morning for example had featured a particularly bad episode. Sam had taken cover in the library the moment Cas opened his mouth at breakfast and it had all ended with the angel doing one of his famous disappearing acts, complete with snarky commentary and Dean had stomped out and climbed into the Impala and just driven off, attempting to clear his head because what was it about the situation that was so hard for the winged bastard to understand?!

Then, call it coincidence or fate or whatever, he had found the solution.

He had stopped by the supermarket on his way back for a quick beer-run and it had been sitting right there on the bulletin board outside the store and Dean had spent almost ten full minutes just staring at it before he burst out laughing like an idiot because _of course_! It was so ridiculously _simple_, how had he _not_ thought of this before?!

Now he was back at the batcave, walking through the corridors with the solution in question tucked safely beneath his arm inside a cardboard box and a poorly withheld smile curling across his lips as he made his way towards Castiel's room.

And yes, Cas had a room of his own now. Upon his first visit Dean had tossed the suggestion out, not really thinking much about it because Cas was _family_ and if he and Sam had their own rooms it only seemed fair that Cas got to have one too. The angel had seemed a bit confused by the offer at first, but in order to please the Winchesters he had then proceeded with picking the room that was basically closest to the spot where he was standing, which as it turned out, happened to be the one next to Dean's own.

However, even if he didn't express it by decorating and tending to it like Dean had with his, it was clear that Castiel liked his room. It wasn't unusual for him to spend hours upon hours hauled up in there reading or doing whatever angels did on their time off, but in the shadow of recent events Dean was starting to suspect that Cas was in there sulking on purpose; like some kind of giant, celestial five-year old…

Well, if things went as Dean planned, that behavior would soon change.

As he reached the door he had to take a few moments to compose himself, willing the giddy grin on his face down before he took a deep breath and brought his hand up to tap the knuckles lightly against the wooden surface.

"Cas, you in there?" he called out, not really expecting an answer. "I need to talk to you." he added and he was about to knock on the door again when the low gravel of the angel's voice came floating through from the other side.

"It's open."

Cas was, as Dean had pretty much guessed already, sitting with his back against the headboard of his bed, seemingly consumed by the task of reading yet another book and he didn't look up when Dean entered his room or when the other man closed the door silently behind him, gaze stubbornly fixed on the pages before him with a slight pinch to his lips that Dean suspected the angel had picked up from Sam somewhere along the road.

Needless to say; you didn't need to be a rocket scientist to realize that the angel was still in a pretty foul mood…

Ignoring the ominous atmosphere Dean sauntered up, canting his head to read the title of the book in Castiel's hands, but was only met with a plain, leather surface.

"Whatch'ya reading there, feathers?" he asked, sitting down at the foot of the bed, but frowned when Cas responded by pulling his feet away from him and sending him an icy glare over the edge of his book and Dean swallowed, the trouble of keeping his smile under control suddenly not an issue anymore.

"What do you want, Dean?" the angel muttered and Dean cleared his throat.

"I was- wait hold on..." He turned around and grabbed the box from behind his back and held it out towards the angel, but Castiel simply gave the container an empty look, as if not understanding what in the world Dean expected him to do with a cardboard cube.

"I… uh…" Dean licked his lips, "I saw this today when I was out and I… thought it might cheer you up." He urged the package closer and Castiel sat up taller, warily putting his book aside on the bedside table as he took the box, adding a second hand and a frown of confusion when the unexpected weight inside seemed to shift its balance at the exchange.

"Go ahead, open it." Dean prompted and Castiel placed the box on his lap, easing the lid off with a suspicious glance at the human by his side before looking down and Dean's mouth twitched when he saw the way the angel's eyes widened, the hostile tension of his shoulders melting away as he carefully reached his hands into the box and picked up its content, which started purring loudly the moment the angel's hands made contact with it.

"She might not win any beauty contests," Dean excused, rubbing his neck awkwardly, "but… you know, it's all about what's on the inside right?"

The grey and white, _completely hairless_ cat in Castiel's grip blinked; one blue and one green eye leisurely peering up at the angel's shocked face.

"She's a Sphynx." Dean continued hastily, eager to make Cas understand how brilliant it was. "There was this notice at the store and… I figured 'hey, no fur, no allergies', right?"

He gave a small laugh, expecting Cas to say something back, but instead the angel slowly raised the cat higher, tilting his head to study the tiny pattern of a tattooed paw prints that trailed up the cat's left hip before turning his gaze back at Dean, confused scowl still in place.

"Oh yeah, that…" Dean cleared his throat, the silent accusation of the angel's eyes making him feel insanely awkward. "She was found abandoned in the cellar of an old tattoo parlor two towns over. Apparently the people there thought it was cool to ink their pets…" he explained quickly, feeling his heart sink in his chest when the angel's stern facial expression didn't change. "The vet said she was in a pretty bad shape when they found her, being starved and all, but she's supposed to be a real sweetheart. Or so the people at the animal shelter told me." He looked at Cas, swallowing hard. "So are you-… I mean, do you like her?" he stuttered out, hating himself for the little catch in his throat.

Castiel looked back at the feline in his hands before slowly putting the box away, placing the cat down to take its spot on his lap. The cat was still purring, its naked tail raised high and the large ears perked up intently as it watched the angel take a deep breath and then let it out slowly, closing his eyes with a sigh.

"Dean…" he started, and fuck, Dean's heart nearly stopped beating in his chest because shit, had he gone about this the wrong way? Then the corner of Castiel's mouth slowly moved up in a crooked little tilt as the angel let out something in between a snort and a chuckle, bright blue eyes rising up to meet with his.

"Thank you…" he smiled and Dean's chest filled with an odd, fuzzy kind of warmth when the angel reached down to pet the cat slowly over the back, the cat in turn arching up to met the palm of Cas' hand halfway and the low purring immediately escalated into a loud rumble as that from a small engine. "She's beautiful." The angel added, almost revering and Dean began plucking with the hem of his shirt.

"Well, maybe now you'll finally get off my back about it," he mumbled, feeling his ears beginning to heat up because there was far too much gratitude in Castiel's voice than what he could handle right now and still pretend that it wasn't a big deal. "But you better promise to feed it and bathe it and stuff. And if she pees _anywhere_ in here then _you're_ cleaning it up, you hear me?" he added grimly, making the angel chuckle once more.

"I promise." Cas vowed solemnly, tilting his head curiously to the side when the cat began pawing at his trousers, grimacing when the sharp claws pierced through the fabric and prickled his thighs.

"So…" Dean cleared his throat, reaching out to tentatively rub the cat under the jaw. "What you gonna call her?" he asked and Castiel looked up, seemingly confused by the question.

"Call her?"

"Yeah. I mean, she needs a name doesn't she?" Dean scratched the cat behind the ears, still surprised that something that looked so creepy could actually feel so pleasant to touch.

"I was thinking something like 'Cleopatra'," he then revealed proudly. "Since she's a Sphynx and all." he grinned, but Castiel just looked at him blankly, seemingly not getting the joke.

"You know?" Dean tried again. "Cleopatra? As in with the sphinx and… and the pyramids…?"

He looked at the angel, waiting for the pun to sink in, but when Castiel only continued to stare right back he sighed and threw his hands out, declaring it a lost cause.

"Oh what the hell; just go ahead and call it 'Kitty', or 'Patches' or something, I don't care." He muttered and Castiel looked down at his lap once more; regarding the lithe creature there intently and the feline turned its head away from Dean's hand to look back at him, holding the angel's gaze steadily without even blinking. The two of them stayed like that, seemingly engaged in silent conversation with one another for a while until the cat suddenly pushed its head forward to nuzzle into the fabric of Castiel's sleeve with a pleased murmur. Then she yawned and curled herself into a tight, purring little ball with her chin tilted up, her tiny claws reaching and flexing into the lapels of Castiel's trench coat, seemingly perfectly content with her current, nameless situation.

Castiel tilted his head and continued to stroke the animal's body, snorting when the cat rolled over completely onto her back, exposing her belly for him to scratch with a pleased sigh and a light pawing of the angel's elbow.

"Patches…" Cas repeated silently, tracing the dual colored pattern of the cat's body with the tip of his fingers and then he nodded once, as if coming to a final decision before looking up at Dean again, smiling properly for the first time in what felt like ages.

"Patches sounds… appropriate." He agreed, wincing quietly when the cat in question began to gnaw affectionately on his index finger in response. Dean chuckled, leaning back against the footboard of the bed and watched Cas untangle the cat from his hands, only to have her climb up the front of his shirt seconds later to perch on his shoulder, nudging her head against his temple with a little chirping purr. He watched the fond smile that graced the angel's lips in return chase away the tired shadows that had been layered upon the other's face for the past two months, that little quirk sitting at the corner of his mouth making him feel more relaxed and at ease than anything he had ever experienced in his life.

Like he said, he _understood_ why Cas had been nagging him about getting a cat, it wasn't exactly hard to figure out. After all that happened; losing his faith, God going MIA, the Apocalypse, dying repeatedly only to be brought back all over again, Crowley, the whole Purgatory-deal… To be honest, Dean was impressed that the dude had even functioned enough to sit down and hold a proper conversation, not to mention _hunt_. Then again he supposed Sam and himself had both been to Hell and back and survived, but still… Cas was damaged. His mind was spread out all over the place and he needed something to focus on to bring it back together again. This cat… she came from a rough background with abuse and starvation; left for dead in some crappy old basement seemingly without hope and still, damaged and broken as she had been, she now had a new home, much like Cas had a home here with them. Perhaps Patches was the thing Cas needed to get back on the right track, to help him heal and make him feel like he was _needed_ again.

He looked up and then let out a snorted laugh as Patches had proceeded her display of affection by playfully trying to kill the narrow end of the angel's tie; swiping at it from Cas' shoulder, her claws catching on the blue silk when Castiel moved in to pull her off and causing the great celestial warrior to let out a low, exasperated grunt when she refused to let it go in spite of his valiant attempts to pry her away and he had to admit; getting Cas a cat might turn out to be the most entertaining approach on rehabilitation they had come across yet.

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_Yeah, I know it's a worn topic, but in the aftermath regarding the recent reveal of Dean being in fact super allergic to cats I thought this needed to be adressed. Cas is getting his cat damn it! XD Also, I have developed a fondness for these naked little rascals myself lately, they are seriously the most well-tempered, playful little things I've ever come across, I want one so badly XDD _

_And before people throws a hissyfit about the tattoo-thing; Yes, I like tattooes, I have several myself. No, I don't think cosmetically tattoing your animals are okay, just like I don't think removing things like claws, teeth or limbs like ears and tails are okay. It's all in the eye of the beholder I guess, but for me it's a no, just a plain, uncomplicated no._

_Anyway, I hoped you liked the story, and if you found Patches amusing I might consider to incorporate her in future fics too, like my own tiny little guest star ^^ I have a few ideas already, so let me know if there's an interest okay?_

**_Thank you for reading, guys, seriously all the love to you!_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Jones!**_

_**Honey, darling, my beloved sweetheart and inspiration… this one's for you ;)**_

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Dean was in a close to insulting good mood.

This morning he had taken Cas to the pet store to pick out a pair of food bowls and cat toys for Patches along with some other things he hadn't gotten from the shelter. Cas picked out this huge scratching post with several platforms, creepholes and _two_ hammocks which had nearly dug a hole straight through Dean's wallet, but he had paid it without comment. Just to see the angel smile again was easily worth every penny and he had even asked the angel if he wasn't going to buy a collar as well, but the angel had just frowned at the suggestion, declaring that Patches was not his possession, she was a _friend_ and Dean had dropped the subject without any further prompting.

Now he was back in the library, pouring himself a glass of whiskey and whistling happily while his younger brother geeked away on his computer at his usual spot by the large table in the center of the room. He had promised Cas to help assemble the Scratch Post of Doom later, but at the moment he had some free time to relax, something he gladly did.

Sam looked up from his laptop when Dean came swaggering up to the chair opposite to his, but his greeting smile quickly morphed into a frown when Dean then proceeded to sit down and toss his feet up on the table.

"You seem to be in a good mood." He commented dryly, wrinkling his noise towards the soles of his brother's shoes.

"I have no reason to be otherwise." Dean grinned, tipping his chair back and rocking it leisurely.

"I take it the pet shop was a success, then?"

"Oh yeah, you should have seen it." Dean chuckled, "Cas was like a frickin kid in a candy store."

"Somehow I find it very difficult to imagine that." Sam sounded doubtful and Dean shrugged.

"Well… a big, unusually serious kid, I give you that, but I could tell he was enjoying himself."

"I bet you could…" Sam mumbled, but Dean was too busy lipping on his drink to pay him any attention.

"You know, this is great!" he declared contently. "There's no more fighting, Cas is finally happy and best of all – I don't have to worry about that stupid allergy anymore."

"Uh…Yeah, right…"

"C'mon, what?" Dean grumbled, recognizing the abundant sarcasm in his brother's voice.

"I hate to break it to you, Dean, but it looks as if your allergy problems are far from over." Sam informed him calmly and Dean who had been about to take another drink stilled with the tip of his glass halfway to his lip.

"What?"

Without a word Sam turned his laptop around, revealing a Wikipedia site with a large picture of a Sphynx cat sitting at the top of the page and Dean's feet slipped of the table with a loud thud as he pulled the computer closer to read the text scribbled beneath it.

"The Sphynx is not classed as a hypoallergenic cat, Dean." Sam explained patiently. "It says here that there's a 50-50 chance that a person will not react to it depending on what kind of allergy they have, but it can also cause an even worse reaction than a normal cat would."

"But it has no hair!" Dean objected loudly, causing Sam to sigh and roll his eyes to the ceiling while retrieving the computer from Dean's side of the table.

"Dean, how much do you know about cat allergy, really?"

"What's there to know? I come near a cat and I start sneezing and my throat itches like crazy, it's not rocket science!"

"Listen, you're not allergic to cat-hair, alright; you're allergic to _cats._" Sam sighed, "You reaction is not to their fur but to a protein produced in their saliva."

"I carried that thing in here all the way from the car!" Dean underlined the statement by thrusting his finger in the general direction of the front door. "If the cat's not hypo-whatever then how come I didn't react to it?" he demanded, but Sam just shrugged.

"Don't ask me, maybe they bathed it before you picked it up, I don't know."

Dean groaned, slumping down onto his elbows and thumping his head hard against the table.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me…"

"The site also says that the Sphynx is a high maintenance cat that needs to bathe regularly and get its skin moisturized." Sam continued, obviously not paying any attention to his brother's misery. "And you have to trim their claws and clean their ears once a week… Dean, did you even _talk_ to the people at the shelter before you got the cat?"

"They might have mentioned something about the bathing…" Dean muttered.

"Dean, _really_?"

"What I- I thought it was just, you know, a _cat_!" Dean winced and Sam almost looked as if didn't know whether to cry or laugh at him.

"All breeds of cats are different, Dean, just like dogs." He gestured to the laptop. "And this one… I mean, it's like the worst possible cat you could have gotten him."

"The dude's an angel, Sammy." Dean grumbled into the tabletop. "He can mojo the cat whatever it needs."

"Dean…" Sam scolded and Dean sat up, throwing his hand out to the side.

"What do you want me to say then?" he snapped. "It's not like I can take the cat back!"

"Well, you just might have to." Sam shot back. "I mean, we're going to be away from here quite a lot, for who knows how long. Something could happen to us, or to Cas and then it will be stuck in here, in the same situation it was before it got rescued. Is that what you want?"

"No it's not '_what I want'_!" Dean snarled.

"Then what were you thinking, Dean?" Sam winced. "Getting a pet is a huge responsibility; it's not some game you can pause when something else comes up!"

"Hey, I was just trying to help!"

"Yes, and I _understand_, but _maybe_ you should have stopped for a second and thought it all through before you went ahead and did this!"

Dean's jaw clenched, biting back what probably would have been the first syllables of a brewing fist-fight before he looked down, glaring at the floor with his now half empty glass of whiskey tightly clutched in the hand hanging between his knees.

"Alright, then smarty pants," he grumbled, "Since you seem to have it all covered then do you have any suggestion on how I'm suppose to break this to Cas?"

"That won't be necessary."

Both Winchesters nearly fell off their seats, startled by the unexpected sound of Castiel's voice and when they turned to look the angel was standing by the head of the table, regarding them calmly with a pleased little smirk on his lips.

"Cas, we-…uh… I mean-…" Dean stuttered out, but Castiel shook his head.

"There's no need for you to explain, Dean. And you don't have to worry about Patches. I have already informed her that you're allergic and she's agreed to keep her distance from you until we know if you react to her or not."

"Oh…?" Dean blinked. "That's… nice of her. I guess..."

"You can talk to the cat?" Sam cut in and Cas looked at him as if he had just asked him if he could stand on one leg.

"Of course." He said. "Although it's been a while since I spoke Feline, my dialect is a bit… archaic. She finds it very entertaining." He added towards Dean.

"I can imagine…" Dean mumbled, but then he seemed to realize something and turned to the angel with a scowl. "Hold on a minute, you knew the cat wasn't hypogenetic?"

"Hypoallergenic." Castiel corrected. "And yes, I did."

"Cas, what-…?" He cut himself off, taking a deep breath. "Damnit, why the hell didn't you say anything?" he sighed Castiel tilted his head to the side, looking at him in confusion.

"You were happy, Dean." He explained simply. "And I didn't want to belittle your gift to me by telling you that you had made a mistake. That would be rude."

Yeah, Dean really couldn't come up with a good response to that. On the other side of the table, however, his brother as usual didn't seem to lack any words.

"Cas, you _do_ realize that if anything happens to us she'll be left to starve in here all by herself?" he pointed out and Castiel nodded slowly.

"I appreciate your concern, Sam, but like I told you, there's no need to worry. I have already explained to her what we do and even though she finds our choice of profession a bit strange she doesn't mind it. She's certain that she'll be able to take care of herself while we're gone. I have also taken the liberty of showing her an escape route out of the building, in case of an emergency."

"What do you mean; an escape route?" Dean huffed. "There's only one way in and out of this place."

"For you there's only one, yes." Cas clarified. "But she's a _cat_ and I'm sure that in time she will find more than one alternate way of coming and going as she pleases."

"But what about food?" Sam objected. "We still have to feed her and empty the litter box, not to mention the bathing and the skincare."

By now Castiel was starting to look slightly annoyed by the taller man's apparent endless line of objections and when he answered his rough voice sounded close to snappish.

"To use your brother's words, I am fully capable of 'mojoing' Patches into whatever state she requires." He stated proudly. "A trip back here would take me less then five minutes, regardless of my starting-point." he added sharply.

"And what if something happens to _you_?" Sam pressed on.

"I have explained the road to the local shelter. She'll know where to go."

"You're telling me that the cat will be able to find her way to one specific house in a town she's never been to over two miles away, simply because you've given her directions?" Sam asked incredulously and Castiel narrowed his eyes at him.

"Would you have found that to be as implausible had she been a dog?" he retorted testily and that's when Dean decided that now would probably be a good time to intervene before this conversation turned really ugly.

"Okay!" he interjected, giving the angel an assuring pat on the shoulder at the same time as he sent his brother a reprimanding glare across the table. "So what you're trying to say here is that everything's fine?"

"Yes." Castiel turned his head to give Sam a quick glower before looking back at Dean. "Everything is fine."

"Awesome!" Dean took a deep swig out of his glass, looking around the room. "So where is she now? Did you leave her in your room?"

Cas squinted, his eyes growing distant for a split second.

"She's chasing a mouse in the basement." He informed them and on the other side of the table Sam's head shot up from behind the laptop.

"We have mice in the basement?" he choked out and Castiel squinted again, tilting his head as if he was listening to something coming from far, far away.

"Had." He corrected and Dean snorted out a laugh, ignoring the bitch face Sam gave him in return.

"See, Sammy?" he grinned, patting the angel on the shoulder once more. "I told you things would work out just fine."

/\/\/\/\/\/\

_**Okay so this turned into a thing much faster than I thought it would. XD I'm still in the middle of deciding if I should make this a proper story with a plot or if it's just going to stay as a little collection of short stories featuring the adventures of Team Free Cat Owners… What do you think?**_

_**Anyway, I'll keep the story marked as "completed" for now, and we'll have to see when the next idea comes along. Feel free to add it to your watch-list if you're interested, and as usual this story will be featured on my tumblr site as well, (same as my pen name) so if you enjoy it I would really appreciate if you would like to re-blog my posts there to spread the word as well? ^^**_

_**Okay, there, I'm done.**_

_**Love you all so much!**_


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